


Monsters

by Optronix



Category: Transformers Generation One
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Gen, Original Character(s), Vampires, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-12
Updated: 2017-02-19
Packaged: 2018-03-30 04:20:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3922687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Optronix/pseuds/Optronix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU - Monsters are always lurking in the shadows, out of sight and usually out of mind; but being a monster is a whole lot different than being afraid of them. Join Jazz and his family's struggles in a world where being a monster is a terrible thing. The only thing worse is the race against the clock. Will the hunter get the hunted or will something else get to them in the end?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The New Kid

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers.

There was something about her that many bots found eerie. That being said, they avoided her if they could and if they couldn't, she wasn't spoken to. It wasn't all Pixie's fault that her classmates had functioning sixth senses, but could she really blame them? She was a monster, to say the least, and no one but her creators knew. Pixie was unlike the rest of her class; she could hear every little whisper, see every little speck in the air, and feel different sensory stimulation than seeker wings. Pixie was stronger and faster than the rest of them, and far more intelligent, but they didn't know. She hid her optics behind her visor, shielding them from the rays of Cybertron's star in order to prevent her from feeling a painful burning surge throughout her frame.

Like all mornings, Pixie sat up from her lounge chair after an uneventful night of staring at the two moons. She couldn't ever sleep; the most she did was nap to sate the half of her frame that required rest. With the grace of a feline, she found her way to her home's kitchenette. Only her Carrier used it since he was the only one who really needed fuel. Pixie occasionally did too. Surely enough her Carrier was up and about, sipping his warm energon.

"How did you rest?" Prowl asked as he set down his half-empty cube on the table, leaning back leisurely into the chair.

Pixie gave him a single shoulder shrug, making her way to the second cube that Prowl had set out for her. Steam flowed atop it from the heat of the energon, swirling above it before it disappeared. She collected the cube into her servos and gave it a gentle blow before taking a large gulp. The heat of her energon hardly bothered her and she relished the feel of her frame shivering at its warmth as it spread throughout her cold frame. 

"It was alright. Stared at da moons fer da majority of da night."

Prowl hummed as he reached for his cube, taking another swig. "They are quite lovely when the star shines on them at night."

"Yeah."

Silent fell over the two for a moment until Jazz emerged from the balcony, striding in with a gentle smile as he gazed at his family. "Fine, mornin'. Don't cha think?" Prowl stood up from his chair, approaching his mate with a kiss.

"Mornin', Sire." Pixie greeted. The black and white mech found his daughter and he smiled, beckoning her to come. She set down her empty cube and joined his embrace, nuzzling his neck  
.  
"Mornin', babycakes. Ya ready fer school?" Jazz heard her groan.

"Sire, Ay don't wanna go anymore. Can't Ay go wit cha instead?"

"Sweetspark, weh talked 'bout his. Ya can't come wit meh yet." Jazz said with a sigh, stroking her helm.

"It's gettin' borin' an' lonely. There isn't anyone Ay can talk ta." she insisted. "It gets more an' more lonely..."

Her creators frowned. They knew she was going to eventually feel lonely. When Pixie was young, she wanted to go to school, to learn and have friends, but Pixie soon learned that she was going to be known as a monster after her only friend had died in an accident she had provoked. Since then, she never tried to fit in. She stayed in the back, watching in envy and jealousy as everyone else became friends with each other. Jazz knew she needed to find a companion in order to feel accepted, but Pixie kept isolating herself from everyone around her.

"Pixie, just ah few more months, okay?"

Pixie looked at the floor, pushing away from her Sire. "Yeah. Sure, whatever..."

The pair watched her go, collecting her datapads from the desk beside the door and leaving. Prowl sighed loudly rubbing the base of his chevron with his digits. "Jazz... she needs somebody."

"Ay know." the other said.

The Praxian turned towards his mate, an almost pleading look in his optics. "Can't we have another sparkling?"

Jazz contemplated on his answer that had been the same for vorns. He didn't want to run the risk of them being discovered, but Prowl had become rather insistent now that their only femme was nearing adulthood. "Ay'll... think about it." Prowl's hope lifted and he pecked his mate's cheek.

Jazz smiled softly before he grinned, fanged dentas flashing. "Now, where's breakfast?"

~~

Today, something smelled interesting. Pixie had been used to the dull and bland smell her school and its students had to offer, but now there was something delectable. Her wings perked up the moment she stepped through the front threshold and she took a whiff. Who on Cybertron possessed this smell? It made her mouth water at the thought of how savory and delicious the smell could have tasted. Before Pixie knew it, she was following the scent through the crowd of students; many of them looked at her, wondering where she was headed before going back to the interest of their groups. Her optics darted between the different bots, dismissing them as she immediately recognized them and their dull smell. Pixie screeched to a halt as the owner of the scent was just a few steps away.

Helios was intently looking over his schedule and school map, trying to match up his room numbers to the map and finding the best route to all of them. He didn't noticed the winged femme staring at him in interest. The young mech grumbled to himself. 

"If this school wasn't so fragging big..."

"Ay can help ya."

Helios jumped in surprise, almost dropping his datapads. He clutched the map and schedule to his chest, optics focusing on the femme in front of him. "Oh! Um..."

The mech felt his spark flutter, a knot forming in the back of his intake as he briefly looked over the black and white femme. His optics lingered at her wings, white panels bobbing almost excitedly up and down. Pixie could hear his spark pulse accelerate slightly, making the rich scent even sweeter. She watched the mech fumble for words as she showed him a soft smile, one that she reserved for herself.

"S-Sure. I could use all the help I can take. I-I came from Tyger Pax so I haven't the slightest clue." Oh dear Primus, Helios thought to himself. She was cute!

"What's yer first class?" Pixie asked.

Helios looked down at his small stack of datapads, flushing yet again as he tried to find the one with his schedule. He pulled out his schedule and handed it to the femme.

Pixie glanced at it and cringed.

"Mecha Anatomy?"

"Yeah." he looked at his pedes, shuffling. "I'd like to be a medic, like my Carrier."

She continued to look over his schedule. "Yeah, Ay noticed. Ay can show ya where yer classes are."

Helios smiled. "Thanks."

"No problem."

~~  
If Pixie hadn't had super being hearing, she wouldn't have heard the voices whispering about her as she passed. Unfortunately, she did have an acute sense and could hear them.

"What is a mech like him doing something like that?"

"Why is the recluse talking with the newbie?"

"When is the freak going to just drop dead? She doesn't belong with him."

It hurt. Those words hurt, but Pixie didn't show it. She couldn't let them know.

Pixie was a mess of emotions. She loved going to school because it meant she could be with Helios, but it was hell for it meant she would have to endure the whispers of her peers. At home the loneliness was even worse. No one to talk to, no friends to go hang out with; she didn’t have anyone. Pixie couldn't even sleep her troubles away because she didn't recharge. Being a monster made it hard for her to be normal, to enjoy the simple things in life.

Third term was set to start in a decacycle, which is when Pixie was pulled aside along with another femme she had seen, but never actually talked too before.

"Alright, now you've both been struggling in your core classes and your teachers believe you need to have some additional help," the femme was telling them. Additional help?! Pixie was ten times smarter than every bot in this jailhouse. She just didn't try, didn't try at all; at least until the last couple decacycles.

Everything about Helios captivated her: he way he looked, how he acted, his opinions on the world, and, of course, that delicious smell coming from him. Helios was different from the rest of the entire school and she liked it.

Pixie quivered a bit, a new smell hitting her hard. She turned and the femme next to her was on her peds, shouting at the femme about her grades and how hard she tries. Suddenly, she'd become interesting too. Since Pixie had gotten here, nothing exciting happened. No fights, spats, absolutely nothing. Everything and everyone was boring.

Watching her, Pixie saw her peds sink into the floor some, a wave of heat rolling over her frame. Pixie hissed, hating the sensation.

"Rhea, please, calm down!" The instructor pleaded. "You are too old for these breakdowns." Rhea's face contorted with rage.

"Too old? Too old?! I'll show you 'too old' you crazy femme!" The heat slamming into Pixie grew more intense, hotter and stronger as Rhea stormed from the room, screaming at the top of her vocal processor as she went.

Pixie smiled. Maybe people here were interesting, she'd just been too bored to notice.


	2. Bully

"How was school today?"

Prowl's question was meant to go unanswered. Usually, Pixie just shrugged and sipped her evening cube silently, but tonight was not like any other night.

Pixie talked more in that one groon and she'd talked in her whole life - from Helios to Rhea and back again. Prowl just sat there, optics wide as Pixie chatted. When Jazz stepped in, he was just as shocked as Prowl was. Whatever had gotten into their little femme?

Before either Prowl or Jazz could get in a word, Pixie popped a question they'd never even thought to consider before.

"Can Rhe come ova? Pwease?"

Jazz looked over at Prowl, Prowl looking back at him.

[[What do weh do? What if da femme figures us out? She can't come ova.]]

[[But Jazz, this is the first friend Pixie has make since she was a youngling. We have to support this. We don't want her to be depressed anymore, do we?]]

Jazz thought about what Prowl was saying as he looked at Pixie. He hadn't seen this kind of happiness in her in years. Maybe they had to take a chance.

"Sire? Carrier? Pwease?" Pixie begged. Jazz exhaled slowly.

"Ya can invite 'er ova, okah?" Pixie lit right up.

"YES! Yes!" Pixie jumped up from her seat and raced back to her room, eager to make it clean for the first time in years for her friend.

~~

Pixie made sure her very special guest felt at home; she bounced in her step, eager to show her to her room and the places Rhea was allowed to roam in her house. Upon first introductions, Jazz was nearly stiff, still uncertain about having the femme coming over and possibly discovering who they really were. It wasn't until Prowl passed him an assuring wave through their bond that everything was going to be alright did he loosen up.

Jazz watched Pixie tug Rhea enthusiastically to her room and he gave a soft sigh. "Neva did Ay think Ay was gonna see 'er so happeh."

Prowl smiled gently, taking his mate's servo and raising it to his lips, a tender kiss placed on his dark knuckles. Prowl spoke with a whisper low enough for Jazz to catch. "With time, babe. Now we have to hope Rhea doesn't ever find out our secret."

Jazz nodded.

Pixie showed her new friend her room, enjoying the rush in her spark as warmth overpowered the naturally grown coldness. Rhea marveled at the size of the room, envious that hers was smaller. "Well, then again," Rhea stated. "You're an only child."

Pixie's wings gave an unseen flicker. "Yeah."

Rhea skipped over to Pixie's lounge chair, plopping gracefully onto it. "Where's your berth?"

"Yer sittin' on et." Pixie's reply came smoothly. "Berths aren't mah thang. Made mah wings feel squished."

"Oh. They make berths for winged bots though."

"Lounge chairs are so much bettah. More cushion. An' Ay don' share mah recharge spot so..."

Rhea giggled. "Not even a quickie?"

Pixie's visor flickered as she blinked. "Um... no? Mah rep at dat school sucks."

Rhea rolled her optics. "Right. That dreadful place. I don't see why. You're so cool." Pixie smiled.

"Thank ya. Yer pretty legit."

"Of course I am!"

A few hours came to pass, hours of watching videos and nonstop talking led the two femmes to breach the subject of their unstable grades. At first, Rhea refused to cooperate, stating that she didn't care about her grades and that it was pointless to even try raising them since they were close to ending the school year.

"I don't understand anything! That's the problem and the fragging teachers are afts." Pixie tried to avoid wincing, well aware of her Sire's all-hearing audio, as Rhea cursed. "I won't be able to scoop up my grades that fast and I refuse to have a tutor."

"Ya don' hafta have ay tutor. Ay can help ya."

Rhea gave Pixie a look of dubiousness. "If your grades aren't as pretty, why are you failing?"

"'Cause Ay don' do tha work. Ay know how ta do errythang, but school's ay waste o' mah time an' Ay don' do et. Ay'm tryin' ta boost mah grades an' Ay can help ya."

Rhea still looked uncertain. "We'll see about it."

After some coaxing, Rhea finally gave in and took up Pixie's offered help. They met in the library after school, when all that were left were the nerds of the student body and they weren't bots that criticized them. Pixie stared intensely at the datapad's screen, making sense of the complex chemistry and physics. "Ef yer sufferin' so badleh, why ya takin' these classes?"

"Reasons." Rhea promptly stated.

Pixie spared her a curious look before looking back at the datapad. "Let's start on tha first chaptah. 'Cause if ya dunno tha basics, ya dunno an-eh-thang."

Rhea snorted. "Let me get my notespad."

"That's ay great place ta start." Pixie giggled.

By the end of their lesson, Rhea could grasp the basics of chemistry and physics. Rhea felt quite proud of herself she could do the first few chapters of the book before harder chapters came into play. The femme questioned Pixie on how she knew to which Pixie replied, "Ay have ay lotta free time."

Rhea snorted in amusement at that. The two walked side by side, exiting the building, chatting casually and Pixie praising Rhea on her progress, only to meet with the school's resident bullies. Fortunately for them, they weren't targeted; Radioactive had done nothing wrong or anything to anger the upperclassmen bullies, but it didn't stop them.

"Is the little nerd gonna go back to Carrier and cry? Bet you are you little nerd, because that's all you do." The largest mech in the group of four reached forward, his dark servo gripping Radioactive's helm fin and tugging the bot forward. The action elicited a sharp yelp from the smaller mech, pain flaring from the unwelcoming grab. 

Radioactive managed a glare past his agony, servos clutching at the other holding his fin. "You prey on the weak because you're weak. There are bigger bullies than you and you thi-"

He was silenced with an abrupt punch to his hypergastric region, the wind from his vents flying out of him and he choked.

"Shut up you little fragger!" The offended mech snarled, throwing Radioactive forward into the other bot across the bully.

Rhea practically scowled in furious anger as they shoved the mech around, their laughter sounding sick in her audios. Pixie frowned deeply, intent on ending it, but Rhea beat her to it. With anger fueling her, the femme marched forward, grabbing the ring leader and kicking behind his knee joint. What the offending mech felt was a sharp flash of heat to the back of the knee and shoulder, and he collapsed with a mighty wail. The other three met the glare of the infuriated femme and they growled. "Hey! Frag off femme!"

"Leave him alone!"

"Leave before we slag you too. I'd hate to hurt your pretty face."

"Ay'd like tah see ya try." Pixie growled from behind Rhea. The three mechs jumped back at her deadly glare and they grabbed their leader before scurrying away. No way in Pit were they going to fight her.

Rhea muttered a 'Thanks' behind her before kneeling down, her frame cooling down. She carefully touched Radioactive, her servo quite hot as though she was working her systems way overtime. "Are you okay?"

Radioactive groaned slightly, his frame slightly aching. "Y-Yeah. I-I am..." his dim optics raised, meeting gazes with Rhea. "Thank you."

Rhea managed a smile. "You're welcome."

The mech sat up, rubbing his fin tenderly as he further looked into Rhea's faceplate. "Hey, you're the femme in my science courses!"

She was barely able to hide the flushing on her cheekplates as she nodded. "I was... getting help." Rhea stood up, pulling the mech to his pedes. "Thank Primus I did get help. Those slaggers would have hurt you worse if we hadn't been here."

"Yeah, well, it wouldn't have been the first time. But, thank you. So much." Radioactive offered a smile.


	3. Revelations

Friendship is a funny thing. All of her life, Pixie thought she didn't want it, didn't need it; but now that she had it, she never wanted to let it go. She had, for the first time in forever, a femme she could talk to about anything and not be criticized for it. She didn't think she was weird or creepy. Even better, Rhea actually liked her! Pixie thought it was too good to be true, but then Rhea's friend started hanging out with them too. At first, Pixie thought Radio was going to be hard to handle and just irritate her...but Radio's best friend was Helios. And when Radio came over to be with them at lunch, Helios followed.

"Hey everyone. How's it going?" Radio said as he plopped down next Rhea at the small table in the back corner of the refueling hall. Pixie was very aware of Helios sitting next to her, of how close he was. Pixie's wings trembled without her consent.

Rhea glanced across the table at her, a knowing look in her optics as she rapidly talked to Radioactive about her morning.

"What did you do on this fine day?" Helios asked easily, sipping his cube. Pixie looked at him.

"Oh, well, just ah few uneventful classahs. What 'bout cha?”

To Pixie's great surprise, talking to Helios wasn't as hard as she thought it would be. Yes they'd talked before, but that was just "Where's this? Over there? Thanks." Not actual conservation.

Pixie was happy. She didn't know she could be happy, but she was; and she liked it. She liked being here in the refueling hall with her friends. Everything was getting better.

~~

"Can I tell you something...?" The tone of Rhea's voice unnerved Pixie.

They sat in Pixie's room, in her giant lounging chair. Rhea looked very nervous.

"Everythin' okah?" Pixie prodded gently.

"I'm not supposed to tell, but, you of all people would understand," Rhea babbled softly. What was going on?

"Yer not suppose tah tell what?" Pixie asked, visor dimming in the fading light. They'd been friends for the past few months. Pixie loved everything about Rhea, but sometimes, being around her made Pixie edgy, worried, and more alert than usual. During those times, Rhea smelled...different.

"I'm not...Cybertronian. Not completely, anyway." Rhea voice was hardly more than a whisper. Behind Pixie's visor, her optics widened. A question flooded Pixie's mind instantly. Was there someone else like me out there? Am I not the only monster?

"Den what are ya?"

"I'm...a werewolf," she said in her quietest voice yet. Pixie cringed.

"Yer-yer serious...?" Pixie whispered back. Her spark was slamming hard into its chamber at this point. Rhea nodded.

"My sire...he's full, I'm half. My carrier, she gave me a medical condition that makes it really hard to control my frame temp..." Rhea couldn't look at Pixie. The fear of utter rejection was too great for that. "I already know I'm a monster. You don't need to waste your breath telling me that."

"Ay wasn't gonna," Pixie replied matter-of-factly. "'Cause...Ay'm ah monstah too." Rhea finally looked at her, anger flaring in her optics.

"No, you're not," she growled. "You don't understand what that word really means."

"Yes, Ay do, 'cause Ay'm ah vampire," she responded, just as angry. It was Rhea's turn to be shocked.

"You-you're serious?" she asked in a low voice. Pixie nodded.

"Yer serious?" Rhea nodded back. At the exact same time, they said,

"Our sires are gonna kill us."

The fact that she wasn't the only abnormal being on Cybertron--excluding her Sire -- did two things for Pixie: it made her want to leap in joy from the moons and back, and it made her wonder what her Sire did for the majority of the night. She hated secrets for a sole reason: she knew everything. Being kept in the dark was unnerving.

Rhea's secret tumbled around in her processor for the remainder of the orn; Pixie was so grateful that her Sire wasn't in the direct vicinity or Primus knew what would have happened to Rhea. The femme remembered, when she was barely out of sparklinghood, her Sire had come home once looking like he had gone through a shredder. She was instantly ushered away by her Carrier, preventing her from seeing her Sire's damage. Unfortunately, her sharp audios heard him mutter something along the lines of 'Damn dog'. That was the only hint she had to other monsters living on Cybertron and as time had passed, that hint slowly became nonexistent in her processor.

They met the next orn, early in the morning in the school library to aid each other in their language classes. Pixie expected it to be awkward, knowing that she was a rival monster to Rhea, but was surprised to see it be quite irrelevant. Perhaps it was because of the amount of time they had spent together and the high levels of animosity amongst each other. As the library became livelier, Pixie and Rhea left in search of their mech friends. Much to their surprise, they only found Radioactive who looked rather distressed.

"What's wrong?" Rhea asked, concern washing over her as she made way to his side.

Radioactive bit his lip, looking at Pixie. "Helios is in the hospital."

Pixie felt the energon in her fuel lines drop to her peds, her visor blanching. "What happened?"

"Some bots attacked his house, slaughtered his family. Helios was barely alive when the Enforcers found him. And to make it worse, no one knows who those bots were." The mech further explained.

Pixie didn't need any other motive. She turned on heel to the nearest exit, fleeing from school grounds and leaving her friends behind her. Her alt mode took over and she sped to the medical facility. Pixie didn't need to ask where Helios' room was when she arrived; she followed her olfactory sensors to his ICU. She saw him battered and broken; IVs, wires, tubing, and so much more was strewn across his frame. In an instant, Pixie remembered her first friend who was laid out in a similar manner and her spark clenched itself. The femme couldn't help, but think it was all her fault when in reality; she had nothing to do with it. Emotions resurfaced and Pixie began to cry, coolant pouring from her hidden optics and streaking her cheeks. She feared Helios was not going to live, that he would slip away from her grasp. At the very thought of him dying made her dizzy and she gripped the side railing of the med berth, denting it with her unnatural strength. Pixie felt herself become unsteady, her processor swirling.

"Pixie!" She faintly recognized her Sire's voice calling.

Out of all things, Pixie was the last bot Jazz expected to see in the mech's ICU. He rushed forward, catching her in his arms. "What are ya doin' in here?"

Pixie sobbed. "Sire...! He-He can-can't die...! He can't!"

Jazz grimaced, cradling his daughter as he looked at Helios. The vampire growled softly. "He has tah."

"No!!" She wailed. "He's-He's tha mech... Ay told ya 'bout...!"

"Pixie. He's tha creation ova vampire huntah."


	4. Shreds

Pixie pushed Jazz away forcefully, knocking him back into the wall. An emotion more powerful than anything she'd ever felt before washed over her. She wanted to protect Helios. She wanted him safe. Moreover, she wanted him to live.

"Ya-ya hurt him? It-it was ya?" Pixie growled softly, taking up an obviously defensive stance. Jazz's visor dimmed with anger.

"He needs tah go, Pixeh. Ya don't undastand. Yer too lil'," he growled harshly. "Step away from him."

"No." Jazz stiffened.

"What was dat?"

"Ay said no. Ay ain't movin'," Pixie shot back. "If ya wanna hurt him, yer gonna go through meh first." Pixie wings arched up into a high V, her claws coming out, fangs lowering over her bottom lip.

"Pixeh, Ay don't wanna hurt cha-"

"Well Ay ain't lettin' ya hurt Helios."

"Pixeh, he will keel ya da second he finds out yer ah vampire." Jazz's words were like a slap to her face. Her anger was bubbling closer and closer to the surface.

"Ya don't know ah damn thang 'bout him. He won't hurt meh. He's da gentlest mech ya'll eva meet," Pixie said lowly. Jazz laughed.

"Wha? Ya think he'll love ya, Pix? Huntahs don't bond wiff dere prey, Pixeh. Ay'm doin' what's best fer ya, so step aside."

"What's best fer meh?!" Pixie half manic laugh echoed around the room. "Ya don't know ah single thang 'bout what's best fer meh!"

Jazz dashed towards Helios, claws extended to kill him, but Pixie intervened. The part of her she felt most disconnected with came to life. Strength flooded her systems along with anger. Her visor burned red as she clawed and ripped at Jazz.

Within seconds, Pixie knew she was going to die. She didn't have the training or experience in a fight, so she did the only thing she could to protect Helios from harm: shove her and her Sire out the five story window.

~~

"What in Primus' name happened?" Prowl demanded when he saw his mate and creation enter through the door. Armor cracked, visors shattered, and trails of energon behind them, Pixie still mustered enough energy to rage and storm to her room.

"Sire es ah disgustin', prejudice, two-timin' murderer!" The door slammed with enough force to rattle everything in the house. Prowl's optics widen, turning to his mate.

"What happened?" Jazz turned away, going to the sink to clean himself up a little.

"She's en love wiff da vampire huntah's brat," Jazz spat. "Ay went tah finish him off an' she was dere. She went fraggin' crazeh. Tried tah fight meh, Prowler..." Jazz's voice broke as he hunched over the sink. "Ay-Ay didn't wanna hurt 'er, our lil' femme...but Ay-Ay couldn't control mah self. Den she pushed us both out da window..." Prowl's optics widened as the story progressed, wings trembling.

"Jazz, Pixie is almost an adult. She has the right to make her own choices. If-If she wishes to pursue this mech then-then I think we let her," Prowl said with as even a voice he could muster. "If she likes him this much, perhaps she could be happy, like you and I-"

"Prowl, dis has never happened before. Vampires aren't supposed tah bond with mechs like ya," Jazz growled. "Weh shoulda neva had Pixeh en da-"

"Don't you dare say that!" Prowl shouted. "Don't you dare say we never should have had her!" Jazz turned to look at his mate.

"Ay'm sorreh. Yer right," Jazz replied quietly, looking almost as broken as his frame. "We'll let 'er do what she wants. Yer right, Prowler. She's ah big femme now. She deserves da right." After a long pause, he continued. "What should weh do 'bout da dogs? They've been breedin'. Ah new one's now out wiff da one's dats been tryin' tah keel meh fer years." Prowl's facial expression hardened.

"Finish them."

~~

Pixie cried furiously as she cleaned herself in the shower, rushing to get back to the hospital. No way in the seven levels of the Pits was her Sire going to beat her to him. She tried to calm down, to retract her claws, but too much anger coursed through her, further inflicting self-damage. The femme stared at her servos through her tearful optics before slashing the wall in front of her. "Ay hate et! Ay hate et, Ay hate et, Ay hate et!!"

She slumped against the wall, sobbing. Why did he have to be a hunter? Why did she have to be a vampire? Why? Whywhywhy?

The femme didn't care if her cries could be heard from miles away; it just wasn't fair!

Prowl hated hearing his daughter cry and knowing that placing Jazz and her in the same room wasn't going to end pretty, the mech decided to go and comfort her. When he stepped into her room, plenty of things were upturned and trashed; he heard her scream and sob in her personal wash-racks, and Prowl moved in advance. He looked inside; spark swelling painfully in sadness as he watched Pixie try to clean herself. Carefully moving forward, he kneeled just outside the floor barrier separating the surface of the shower floor from the rest of the wash-racks. "Pixie?"

"Go 'way!" She hissed, growling in frustration as she nicked herself for the umpteenth time.

Prowl frowned. "Not until you've settled down."

"Ay won't! Not 'til Ay know Sire won't kill 'im!"

"He won't hurt Helios-"

"What ah lie! He's gonna kill 'im 'cause he's ay vampire huntah's kid! Et's why he went tah his house an' da hospital fer! Tah kill 'im!" Pixie pushed herself away from the floor of the shower, snatching a towel and rubbing herself dry furiously.

Prowl followed after her, attempting to reason and press into Pixie's processor that Helios wasn't going to be killed. Each and every time, Pixie refused to listen; alongside that, her frustration kept rising. "Pixie, for Primus' sake! Listen to-"

Jazz snapped straight in a split-second; the fresh smell of his mate's energon accompanied by an abrupt cry captured his attention and he rushed to Pixie's room. What he saw infuriated him beyond belief. Prowl was on his knees, clutching his face as he whined in agonizing pain with Pixie towering in front of him with a look of horror. He took notice in Pixie's claws and the energon dripping from them. In one stride, he launched himself forward and rushed Pixie into a wall with a furious snarl. "How DARE ya strike him?!"

"Ay-Ay'm s-sorreh..." Pixie whimpered, her entire frame shaking. She never meant to hurt her carrier. She was horrified about what had happened. Tears slide down her face as she slumped down the wall, curling into herself as she went. "Ay'm sorreh..." she whispered.

Prowl got to his peds, grimacing.

"Pixie, it’s okay, accidents happen," he said soothingly. Jazz was about to snap a remark but the look Prowl gave him silenced anything Jazz had to say. "What I was trying to say, Jazz and I have decided that you're growing up and you need to make your own decisions. Your sire has promised to leave Helios alone." Jazz nodded.

"Ay swear." Pixie looked up at him through her broken visor, unsure if he was lying or not.

"You can do as you wish. If you enjoy his company, so be it," Prowl said simply, pulling his servo away from his slashed cheek. "Now babycakes, you need to relax or you’re just going to keep hurting yourself, alright?"

Pixie looked herself over. Her energon and other's was smeared everywhere, but most of it was her own. She took a few shaky vents, thinking of Helios and Rhea, and slowly, she calmed down. Her less than normal features morphed back into the customary ones, making her look normal again.

"Ya promise?" Pixie asked, looking at her sire.

"Yes'm. Ay promise."

~~

It was dark, the moons out and glowing. Both were full, which was something that rarely happened. Pixie was out enjoying the night, exploring the abandon parts of the city.

It had been almost two lunar cycles since the fight with her sire. He had kept his word and because of it, she and Helios were closer than ever. She didn't know what she was getting into, but she loved spending every moment she had with him. It was amazing. She loved it and, maybe, him.

But tonight she was out alone, skirting the edges of the city, enjoying her newfound freedom. Until she heard it:

A whine, a horrible, pitiful cry of pain floated on the air. It was miles off, but Pixie's excellent hearing heard it as though it came from a few paces away. The noise was foreign, yet had a familiar note to it. Pixie felt like she should know the owner of the whimper, but decided it was impossible. But her curiosity got the better of her and she followed it. She got there, the potent smell of spilled Energon was in the air. Pixie froze, listening.

"Had enough yet, dog?" The voice was one she knew quite well; it was her sire's.

Stepping around the corner, she saw Jazz, fangs and claws bared, dripping energon, and at his peds was a yellow dog-like creature. Pixie realized it was a werewolf, a real, live werewolf. She looked between her sire and the creature. Was he really around to kill him?

"Where's da mutt?" Jazz demanded.

"I don't know what you're talking about," the wolf growled back.

"Oh yes ya do. Da pest ya've been marchin' around. Where es it?" The wolf only snarled in response.

Energon poured from the wolf's wounds and his breathing was becoming labored. He was going to go offline any second.

"Where es it?!" Jazz shouted, visor flashing crimson.

Footsteps could be heard running towards them. Jazz's helm snapped away from the beast towards them. Hurrying into the pale light was a blue femme, optics bright with fear. Upon seeing Jazz, she froze, a tear falling down her cheek.

"No...no! Don't hurt her!" the wolf yelled. "She isn't a part of this!" He tried to get up but his wounds were too bad for movement. Jazz moved towards her, claws extended, servos raised, ready to strike-

"Sire, staph," Pixie ordered coldly. When she saw the femme, she knew who the wolf was. The femme looked just like Rhea, only older and taller. That meant the werewolf had to be Rhea's sire.

Jazz turned to her.

"Go home. Ay have bidness tah attend tah," he snapped.

"By 'bidness' ya mean murder," she growled.

"He's a damn dog, Pix. Ya don't unda-"

"Ay do undastand. Ay think it’s ya who don't get it anymore," she said boldly. Jazz's visor glowed red.

"Ay letcha have da mech, but da dog has tah die. An' when Ay find his mutt, he dies too."

The blue femme cried quietly cheeks as she looked over at her mate, sniffling softly. She kneeled down next to him, taking him into to her arms, hurriedly trying to mend his wounds.

"Why is it that your creation gets to live and mine has to die? Why is it okay for you take away my family? Why does yours get to live and mine has to die? In what world is that right?" she whispered.

"She's right, Sire. Et isn't fair fer her."

"Don' argue wit' what es right er wrong! Go home!"

"Ay'm nat goin' back without ya. Leave 'er an' 'er mate alone." Pixie gave her Sire a firm glare.

Jazz snarled at her order. "Why are ya so concerned ova tha dog's famileh, Pixeh?"

For once, she hesitated - until the werewolf and his mate stiffened at Jazz's slip of Pixie's name. The werewolf's fur bristled. "P-Pixie? As in... Pixie?"  
The vampiric femme stiffened as Jazz whirled on them with a vivid red visor. "How tha frag do ya know mah femme?!"

The werewolf growled at Jazz, piercing yellow optics narrowing into fine slits. "It isn't of your concern."

Jazz strode forward, claws outwards to grab the werewolf's helm, but his mate held him tightly in order to prevent him from doing so. Her frame trembled as she held her sobs, fearing every astrosecond as Jazz snarled at them. "Please...! Don't take him away from me! I beg of you!"

"Save et, femme! Mate er nat, dis dog has been on mah list fer vorns. Same fer his mutt. Now, move before Ay keel ya too!"

Pixie saw her Sire slowly step forward, intent to kill clear on his faceplates. She had to intervene even if it meant she had to attempt fighting her Sire again.


	5. Hospitality

Prowl sighed heavily, rubbing his temples in stress and frustration. He wondered why everything became hectic so fast, why his world went from peace to chaos. As the mech laid on the couch, he ran a servo down his faceplate.

The silence of his home was shattered when a single note was held in the distance. Prowl knew that it meant a multitude of things, especially since he recognized it as the cry of a werewolf, and he prayed that it had nothing to do with Jazz. Unfortunately, Primus had other ideas; Jazz came back far worse than Prowl had ever seen him. It was an understatement, to put plainly. Chunks of armor were gone, animalistic bite marks littered his frame with energon flowing profusely from them, an arm was close to being detached, and a clear limp on his walk. The vampire dropped to the floor. Prowl gasped sharply, rushing to meet his mate and trying to hold his tears at bay. "Jazz! What happened? Oh my Primus, you're bleeding everywhere! Pixie!"

"Don' bothah... callin' fa her..."

Prowl blinked, a lump growing in his intake and his spark squeezing. "W-What...?"

"She defended tha dog... gave 'im ah chance ta call fer help." Jazz coughed, energon splattering on the floor. "When 'is pack got there, they saw 'er as ah threat..."

"No... No, Jazz..." Horror filled Prowl, optics welling up and spilling over.

"Ay tried ta git ta 'er, but she had placed too much distance between us..."

Prowl's frame trembled as he buried his faceplate into her servos. "No! Don't tell me my baby is dead! Don't tell me that, Jazz!" The mech began to sob, his wings wilting as grief washed over him.

"Ay'm sorreh..."

The winged mech sobbed harder. "How could you?! Why didn't you just drag her home?! My baby!"

Jazz said nothing else, staring at the floor. He felt the agony coming from his mate and his spark clenched. He was such a fool, so blinded by his revenge that it cost him their daughter. How would Prowl ever forgive him?

~~

The first thing that came to Pixie was a potent scent, one so strong it was overwhelming. She jerked awake, sitting up in the process, only to be yanked back down fiercely.

"Don't get up." The voice growled.

Pixie's optics found the owner of the voice and she withered under the yellow bot's glare.

"Bee, hush. You're scaring her," a gentle voice responded over her. Pixie recognized it as the femme from the alley. Pixie held in a whimper as servos glided over her frame. What were they going to do with her?

"Don't worry, you're going to be just fine. I'm a medic." Pixie turned her helm slightly to see the face of the femme. Having her near was just comforting. Her presence made it easier to cope with what had happened.

Pixie realized she didn't hurt as much as she should. The femme must have patched her up pretty good. Only her helm and wings felt like a complete train wreck. Just thinking about her wings caused her to cry a little.

"Hey, sweetspark, just tell me what hurts and I'll fix it, alright?" Her voice was smoother than the sweetest drink Pixie'd ever had. She helped Pixie sit up and before she could even protest was scooped into her arms and snuggled. The gesture was exactly what her own carrier would have done in a moment like this. The thought made Pixie cry harder than before. Sobbing into the femme's chest for a long time while she just hummed softly and stroked her shredded wings with a touch lighter than air.

"Wh-what's yer n-name...?" Pixie croaked. She could feel the tension in the air tighten even more. Optics were glowering into the back of her helm and she knew it was the wolf's.

"Bee, she just saved your life," she snapped. There was a slight pause where the wolf, Bee, didn't say anything. "Oh don't you give me that look." She cuddled Pixie closer. "My designation is Optronix, love, but you may call me Nix."

"Nix," Pixie repeated. The name was vaguely familiar, but she couldn't figure out where she'd heard it before. "Es-es Rhe-Rhe okay?" Nix looked puzzled before realizing what she was asking.

"Rhea? She's okay. Shaken up and anxious to come in here and see you, but I wanted to make sure you were alright first." She looked Pixie over, distress showing on her face. "I'm sorry if I messed a bit up. I've never fixed a vampire before. Your internals are different than most," she said honestly.

"Ay-Ay feel okah. Can Ay see Rhe-Rhe?" Pixie asked quietly. Nix looked concerned, glancing over at her mate, who was still a wolf. Pixie realized why they were worried.

"Ay ain't gonna hurt 'er. She's mah best friend en da whole world." Nix seemed to take comfort in this and silently commanded the door to unlock and open.

Bounding through the door was Rhea, though she didn't really look like herself. Long, shaggy blue and black fur coated her frame. Paws replaced her servos and peds. Fangs poked out from her upper lip. Her optics were still the same though: a gentle blue glowing with concern. Rhea hurried over and before anyone could say or do anything, Pixie flung herself at Rhea, arms looping around her neck. Bee and Nix both tensed before realizing Pixie was crying into Rhea's mane. Rhea laid down on the floor and let Pixie curl into her. Pixie cried herself into recharge right there on the kitchenette floor. Never had she been so exhausted.

~~

"Stop pokin' meh..." Pixie mumbled, twitching about. But something was still poking her. She growled, opening her optics. A small, yellow mech jumped backwards in fright.

"I sowwy! I sowwy!" he wailed. Pixie rolled over and sat up.

The mech was tiny, hardly into his second frame. He had little horns on his helm and extremely blue optics.

"Hiya. Ay'm Pixeh. Who are ya?"

The little mech trembled, but his curiosity got the better of him.

"Me Hornet," he stated matter-of-factly. Pixie smiled. This must be Rhea's younger brother, she thought. Hornet smiled widely at her. Pixie noticed how Hornet didn't have baby fangs. His smile was normal. Rhea stirred from beneath Pixie, now back in her normal state. She groaned, stretching, and shared a wan smile with her. "Morning, Pix."

"Mornin' Rhe-Rhe." Rhea smiled, sitting up.

"You feeling okay?" Pixie smiled back at her.

"Yes'm. Yer Carrier fixed meh up right. She's da nicest femme Ay've eva met." Rhea's cheeks reddened.

"Yeah. Carrier's really nice. I love her." Before Pixie could respond, Nix and Bee walked in. Bee looked better than he had last night, but still slashed up pretty good.

"We need to take you home, Pixie. I'm sure your creators are more than terrified," Optronix said calmly. Pixie nodded.

"Ay betcha dey think Ay'm dead." Bee nodded in agreement.

"I'll take you home," he said quietly.

"No. We'll take her home," Optronix stated firmly. "We all need to talk about what happened last night." Picking up Hornet, Optronix lead Rhea, Bumblebee, and Pixie out of the house and up the street. "So which way to your place, honey?"

Pixie looked around, realizing she was closer to home than she expected. Although she hesitated in leading a wolf family to her home, Pixie had to return home and make sure her Creators were still in one piece. The trip to her house was mostly in silence, the occasional noise coming from Hornet as he was fascinated with every little thing he saw. Pixie would glance back at the little mech, then hastily look away when Bee would growl low enough for Pixie to hear. The femme stopped at the intersection to her street.

"What if et doesn't work?"

"If your Sire won't find reason, your Carrier will." Optronix replied. "Although, it may not be the case. They may be glad that we're bringing you home."

"And if all else fails-" Bee started.

Optronix silenced him with a firm glare. "It won't."

The wolf sighed, but his gaze went to Pixie. "If your Sire," he uttered the words through gritted dentas, "tries anything, I won't hesitate to defend my family."


	6. Homecoming

The knock on the door was surprising as Prowl lifted his miserable self from his berth, rubbing a servo down his coolant soaked face. He had spent the entire night crying out his spark in anguish until he passed out from exhaustion. The mech doubted Jazz had come back from the morning scout of the city his normally did. Especially after the large number of insults and curses Prowl had thrown at his mate. The knocking came again and Prowl hauled himself up, dragging his pedes to the front door. The moment it opened, Prowl stumbled back as Pixie flung herself on him, burying her face into his neck. Prowl looked at the femme in bewilderment before realizing who she was and he clutched Pixie tightly, the waterworks starting all over again.

"Pixie, oh, Pixie!!" Prowl sobbed as he planted uncoordinated kisses to her face.

"Es'okay, Carrier! Es'okay!" Pixie cried back, apologetic kisses being pressed to his cheek. She yelped as Prowl turned her around, inspecting almost every little crevice in her armor.

"How did you heal so fast? You aren't as quick as your Sire."

Pixie tried to look over her shoulder as Prowl inspected her face. "Nix fixed meh."

The mech paused, giving Pixie a curious look before seeing the wolf family still standing at their door. "Bee and I brought her home with us after the brawl last night. I patched her up as best I could, figuring that since she saved our lives, at the very least we owed her our hospitality and aid."

"Thank you." Prowl said as he moved towards them. Bee growled softly in warning, but his mate ignored him as she stepped forward and accepted his hug.

~~

Jazz had every right to hate himself. His blind obsession to kill the werewolf took away his daughter; his mate had every reason to yell, shout, curse, and insult him last night. The vampire contemplated throughout the remainder of the night and morning if he should ever return home. What good was he going to serve to his mate? Was he going to be the constant reminder that his little Pixie was gone? Would his mate refuse to see him as his mate anymore, but as a monster?

Who am Ay kiddin'?, Jazz thought. Ay am ay monstah. Ferevah an' always.

His processor was set. He wasn't going to go home. Jazz was going to leave, give Prowl a second chance to find love with someone who wasn't a monster. Someone normal. Someone who wasn’t him.

Jazz reached the city limits, looking out towards the stretch of highways to the neighboring city-state. There was a problem; he couldn't. Now that he was at the border, Jazz couldn't take one more step. All he could think about was Prowl and that wasn’t a good thing.

~~

"Carrier...? Where's Sire?" Pixie questioned quietly, looking about. She couldn't smell him or sense him. He wasn't home. That thought made Pixie's spark sink right into her tank.

"He's...he's out, babycakes," Prowl said softly, a twist in his spark. Silently, he prayed for Jazz to return. No matter how angry he had been at Jazz, he would never want him gone. He loved him too much for that.

Prowl had relocated everyone to the living room. Optronix was sitting comfortably on the sofa, bouncing Hornet in her lap, keeping him occupied with a small toy she carried for him. Bumblebee was sitting next to her, unconsciously keeping an arm around Optronix's waist out of shear nerves. Rhea was on the love seat with Pixie, holding her servo, which Bumblebee was less than happy about. 

"We need to talk about this...mess," Optronix stated calmly. "It's gone on for too long for no reason." 

"I agree," replied Prowl curtly. "In the past few months, since Pixie met your femme, she's been...been happier than I've ever seen her before. I don't want this to come between them." Rhea sat up a little straighter, hope filling her optics at Prowl's words. "I'm sure you would agree to seeing similar things in Rhea."

Optronix nodded, a small smile on her lips. "Yes, we have." 

"I know it isn't our place, but can't peace be achieved? After all, you're in the same boat we are. Trying to live a normal life when we're anything but normal," Prowl explained. 

"What are you saying?" demanded Bumblebee. "That-that we should cozy up together by the fire and roast flux? Pretend your mate hasn't tried to snap my neck every chance he gets?"

"To be fair, you've tried to kill him too, love," Optronix chided gently, rubbing his thigh with her free servo. Bumblebee growled at her. Optronix's optics narrowed. "Don't you growl at me. I'm right and you know it." Bumblebee didn't reply, knowing she was right. Both Rhea and Pixie shifted edgily. 

"I'm not telling you we should buddy up and live together. What I am saying is, you and Jazz both betrayed your society. In order to obtain a larger inner circle, you’re supposed to bite and change them. Instead, you fell in love. You risked it all telling Nix your secret. She keeps it for you as I keep Jazz's. She carried your children even though the chance of them being like you were a thousand to one. I'm not saying you have to like us. I'm saying we should be friendly enough to help each other out. There's not many of us in this big world. Why spend our time trying to kill each other off when we could spend it doing worthwhile things?" Prowl's monologue rang deep into Bumblebee and to the black and white mech lurking in the doorway. 

"SIRE!" Pixie screamed, jumping up. She ran to him, throwing herself into his arms, hugging him tightly. Jazz was stunned, not having realized Pixie was sitting in the room. Jazz collapsed, cradling her close to his chest, whispering words of apology in her audios. Bumblebee watched them. Prowl's words sinking in. It made sense, what he had said. His pack was small and he was certain the number of vampires was just as small. Perhaps they should...tolerate each other. 

Prowl went over and hugged them both, kissing Jazz firmly on the lips. Optronix smiled softly. 

Jazz looked over his mate and creation, staring directly at Bumblebee. Neither of them said anything, but in that moment they understood each other perfectly. Perhaps peace was possible. Maybe, just maybe they could manage living together. After all, what's the point of being a monster when you can't enjoy scaring the locals a little?

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This is an AU set in the G1 universe, co-written with warperchick on FanFiction.net  
> Pixie and Helios belong to warperchick. Rhea and Radioactive belongs to me.  
> Please review. It’s the only way we can get better and hear what you think of our work!  
> ~Nix


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